Native plants bring benefits to homes

There is an abundance of health and economic benefits that proper landscaping can bring to your home. Shady canopies can cool your home in the summer and can raise the property value of your home and the houses around you. However, few of us are taught in school about how to care for our future houses, let alone how to beautify them. One of the most important lessons to learn about landscaping is that native plants are almost always preferable to imported ones, no matter how flashy foreign plants and flowers can look.

According to an article in the Chicago Tribune Will County, just south of Naperville, has started to offer talks and presentations about the benefits of using native plants in landscaping efforts. The Forest Preserve District in charge of this program called “[email protected]” gave a talk at the Plum Creek Nature Center in Beecher where they claimed that transforming your yard into a natural habitat can benefit bees and make gardening much easier. With bee populations declining all over the country, providing natural habitats and food sources for local bees will ensure that these insects continue to provide us a valuable service. In fact, the article states that the Bur Oak tree, native to Illinois, can house over 300 species of butterflies and moths. While other trees may be able to support them, oak trees are especially important for their early development. In addition, native prairie grasses can attract birds to your yard, and the best way to attract the insects the birds will eat is to start with native plants that can house these insects.

I think that educational programs like these are what every community should strive to implement. Since this is not a subject taught in schools, people are more prone just to accept whatever advice someone gives them about landscaping, even if it might turn out to be more work for them in the future. Instead of rushing out to the nearest home depot to pick out a bunch of cookie-cutter imported perennials, considering consulting a reputable landscaping company like Ware Landscaping in Naperville. These companies exist to help you pick out what plants would work best for your specific yard and will likely suggest primarily native plants that can benefit the natural environment as well as your home.

Having a great looking lawn is important to many people, and there are definitely challenges to moving over to having only native plants around. There are some areas in the United States that might have very sparse native vegetation, especially if you live in a desert area. Even if the native plants are not spectacular looking, choosing plants that fit well in your specific climate is still important. This will cut down on your water usage if your home is in a dry area and will lessen your gardening burden as a whole. Regardless of where you live, choosing native plants is always the way to go to add the beauty of nature to your home.